Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) attends the EU meeting in Stockholm. Several issues are on the official program for the talks: Fighting organized crime Online crime Asylum policy The consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine Before the meeting, the Norwegian Minister of Justice is clear that Norway will cooperate with European countries in several areas. – The government is concerned with the effective return of people who have illegal residence in Norway, says Mehl to news. – We will cooperate with the other countries in Europe on joint measures to get more effective return work. For example, tightening visa permits for countries that do not cooperate in taking back their own citizens. The meeting takes place after Sweden has recently experienced a strong wave of violence. At least two different gang conflicts have played out in Stockholm’s suburbs. EXPLOSION: There have been over 30 incidents of violence in Stockholm in the past month. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news That Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer from the Moderates will use the opportunity to talk to his European, and not least Nordic, colleagues about combating organized crime, seems obvious. Will not compare the countries Justice Minister Strömmer admits to SVT that a system change is needed in Sweden. – Our system for dealing with young people who are on the loose, and who eventually end up in crime, is designed for a different reality than what we are currently experiencing. Therefore, a shift is required in all parts of that system. From when children are small until they become adults, says Strömmer. IN SOLNA: The Swedish Minister of Justice visits the scene of a gang murder in the district of Solna. Photo: Maja Suslin/TT / NTB Emilie Enger Mehl believes that there is nowhere near the same development in Norway – yet. – Sweden has completely different challenges than Norway. In Norway, we do not see a comparable development. Shooting in Oslo is not acceptable. The government has announced a fight against criminal gangs and organized crime, says the minister, and adds: – We must stop the recruitment of children and young people and cut off the gangs’ access to money. Therefore, among other things, we want to establish a new police station at Mortensrud, have more police officers in the districts. We have introduced a weapons amnesty and will submit a parliamentary report on economic crime, says Mehl on his way to Stockholm. MORE MEASURES: The Minister of Justice believes that the government has introduced several measures to prevent the same challenges that Sweden has in Norway. Photo: H. Philip Hofgaard / news – When the police succeed in solving this type of crime, it is preventive in itself, the Minister of Justice believes. Mehl adds that the government strengthened the police budget by 200 million in 2022 and that this will continue in 2023. Young gang criminals The investigation into the wave of violence in Stockholm has revealed that half of those involved are under 18 years of age. A quarter are between 18 and 20. Much of this may be due to the fact that young people under 18 risk a much lower sentence than adult criminals. Therefore, young people are often sent out by the older criminals to commit serious offences, sometimes murder. If they do it before they turn 18, they are not punished as adults. MURDER: The police work at the scene of a murder in one of Stockholm’s suburbs. Many victims and perpetrators are minors. Photo: Christine Olsson / AP Chief of Police in the Swedish police’s operational department, Carin Götblad, believes they have been warning against this development for a long time. – What is very stupid is that this had to become such a big problem before we were taken seriously, she says to the program Aktuellt on SVT2. Götblad believes the police must also learn more about the young people who choose a criminal career path. – We need criminologists who can get behind the numbers. What makes a 13-14-year-old capable of killing someone, she asks. – The whole community is affected Hässelby-Vällingby is one of the districts that has experienced a lot of violence and unrest recently. The district has initiated work to catch young people before it is too late. TRIALS: Therese Holmkvist is the chief of a district in Stockholm who is trying to reverse the criminal trend. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news – Our district does a lot of different things. We have long-term work that starts with the young children and their families. We also have field assistants, social workers in the school and home visits, says Therese Holmkvist. She is business manager for the care sector in the district. – It is incredibly tragic for those affected and their relatives. But the whole of society is also affected and it creates insecurity. That it is young people who are killed is extra tragic, says Holmkvist to news. Measures that take time On 20 December last year, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson presented the government and the Sweden Democrats’ proposals for measures in the field of crime. PROPOSAL: The Swedish government and the Sweden Democrats have put forward proposals for measures against organized crime. Here are Minister of Labor and Integration Johan Pehrson (L), Jimmie Åkesson, leader of the Sweden Democrats, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) and Minister of Climate and Business Ebba Busch (KD). Photo: Jonas Ekstromer / AP Visitation zones, where the police can search anyone, increased penalties, anonymous testimony and more police positions were highlighted. But none of this can stop the wave of violence that is riding Stockholm right now. It may take many years before the measures proposed by the government have an effect. – We are talking here about a serious and reckless crime. It is not something a decent society can tolerate. The state must suppress this crime with all its might, said Sweden’s Minister of Justice Strömmer a few days ago. Collaborating across the border At about the same time, several hundred extra police officers arrived in Stockholm, from all over Sweden. The Norwegian Minister of Justice says there must be cooperation across the Norwegian-Swedish border, also to prevent criminal persons and groups from moving across the borders. – We have good cooperation with the Swedish police. It is natural that Norwegian and Swedish police cooperate on cross-border crime. The government was able to establish a police station at Norway’s third largest border crossing at Magnormoen, says Emilie Enger Mehl. IDEA: Eda municipality on the Swedish side has played with what a Norwegian-Swedish police station in the middle of the border could look like. However, it is unlikely to be quite like this, if it becomes a reality. Photo: Eda municipality / Illustration Work is also now underway to establish a joint police station with Sweden. – A formal police collaboration has also been established, which means that our emergency resources can contribute across the board, if a situation requires it. But that is not a situation we are in now, emphasizes the Minister of Justice to news.
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